Online Resource Portalhttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=Home
Channel Descriptionen-usFri, 9 Dec 2016 12:00:00 -0600Tue, 6 Dec 2016 12:00:00 -0600http://www.rssboard.org/rss-2-0-1A Tree-Thinking Video To Teach Fundamentals Of Phylogenetic Analysis In A Flipped Laboratory Or Lecturehttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=589
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=589Phylogenetic or evolutionary trees are diagrams that are used extensively in their traditional realms of systematics and taxonomy, but have also become more common throughout biology in research ranging from conservation to epidemiology. Phylogenetic trees contain a wealth of information about the patterns of evolutionary diversification and relationships within and among different kinds organisms. The collective ability to read and interpret phylogenetic trees is called tree thinking. This video can be used as a stand alone resource to teach fundamentals of tree thinking, or as a resource for a “flipped” lecture of laboratory exercise in which students first view the video on their own and then conduct an activity in the class or laboratory that uses techniques in the video. This objective of this video resource is to develop and strengthen students’ tree thinking skill by describing the basic components of phylogenetic trees, teaching how they are constructed, and explaining how they are read.Tue, 6 Dec 2016 08:19:45 -0600Hacking Scrabble®: A Novel Activity for Teaching Sampling Principles and Species Accumulation Curveshttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=579
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=579Lab exercise to teach principles of sampling and developing species accumulation curves, using the game pieces from a Scrabble® board game.Mon, 31 Oct 2016 10:01:02 -0500Simulation Games for Animal Behavior: Exploring Tradeoffs of Group Living in Lionshttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=576
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=576This game is one of three submitted for use in an upper level course that focuses on animal behavior. The games are paired with a published article from the primary literature, and students should read and prepare to both discuss the article and explore the hypotheses on which the studies have been based. This active learning helps to engage students in the course material and especially to see how concepts relate to real scientific studies.Fri, 2 Sep 2016 07:33:02 -0500The Cow Diversity Project: introducing undergraduates to molecular population geneticshttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=582
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=582This is a multi-week laboratory exercise that involves sequencing a pair of mitochondrial genes in cows. Using data from several samples, students calculate diversity (variation within species) and divergence (variation between species). The exercise reinforces principles in molecular genetics (DNA purification, PCR, etc.) and introduces principles in molecular population genetics. We provide an overview of the project, detailed notes for instructors, and the handout we currently use.Tue, 14 Jun 2016 09:41:43 -0500Energy Storage in Plants: Should Biofuels Be Made from Seeds or Leaves and Stems?http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=571
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=571The investigation involves students determining where plants store potential energy (a.k.a., chemical energy). In the investigation, students will grow rapid cycling Brassica rapa plants and observe that the dry weight (mass) increases because of photosynthesis. They will measure the amount of energy stored in seeds and vegetative tissues by using a simple calorimeter. The information collected by the students is evaluated as it relates to potential sources of biofuels.Tue, 26 Apr 2016 03:15:30 -0500Writing an Ecological Research Proposalhttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=574
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=574This is a writing assignment that is broken up into steps that emulate the process of developing a novel scientific question and creating a research proposal to answer the question. The assignment is loosely based on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program proposal and consists of all of the same pieces except for Broader Impacts. This assignment was developed for a course in plant ecology, but is applicable to many of the biological and environmental science fields. First, students are encouraged to explore the primary literature and the natural world around them to develop a question in plant ecology. Topics are bounded by the themes and ideas covered in course lecture material and the field of plant ecology. The instructor/TAs provide feedback on the question based on feasibility, scientific merit and potential for a two-page proposal. The question development is followed by two different rounds of peer review and eventually a final proposal is submitted for a grade.Fri, 22 Apr 2016 06:53:00 -0500Plant hairs are called trichomes.http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=580
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=580Why are some plants hairy? This video explains the roles of plant hairs and how they help plants adapt to different environments and deter predators.Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:24:46 -0500Why are some plants hairy?http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=581
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=581These slides contain information about plant hairs called trichomes. The slides can be used to demonstrate plant structural adaptions to biotic and abiotic conditions. Slides which feature confocal/fluorescence microscopy may be useful as examples in a cell biology class.Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:23:09 -0500A Structured Inquiry Approach to Cotyledon Phenotypinghttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=573
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=573Transmission genetics labs are valuable for undergraduate development of analytical thinking skills. However, these labs typically present the scientific process as artificially linear, with a single "right answer." This resource describes an inquiry-based approach to teaching a transmission genetics lab focused on plant cotyledon color. Student groups are required to develop a hypothesis based on limited information, determine phenotype categories based on observation rather than given information, and use qualitative and chi-squared analysis to evaluate their hypotheses. Optional activities to further enhance the scientific thinking component of the project are also described.Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:20:52 -0500Simulation Games for Animal Behavior: Exploring Tradeoffs of Foraging and Vigilancehttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=575
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=575This game is one of three submitted for use in an upper level course that focuses on animal behavior. The games are paired with a published article from the primary literature, and students should read and prepare to both discuss the article and explore the hypotheses on which the studies have been based. This active learning helps to engage students in the course material and especially to see how concepts relate to real scientific studies.Sun, 27 Mar 2016 07:15:32 -0500Algae, Fungi, & Higher Plant Life Cycleshttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=578
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=578The attached PowerPoint file contains images suitable for quizzes, tests, and student study aids of plant and fungi life cycles. The images are all drawn in the same format so that students can focus on the fundamental features of the life cycles and not be confused by irrelevant features. Each set of images begins with the complete, fully labeled life cycle. Next comes the same life cycle but with all of the labels blanked out. Each subsequent pair of slides contains first, a drawing of the life cycle with most of the labels blanked out and one highlighted in red, and then the same drawing with the correct label placed in the red box. The file contains images of both the three basic life cycles (Monobiontic Diploid, Monobiontic Haploid, Dibiontic), and life cycles of representative organisms of the following divisions: Chlorophyta – Ulvophyceae - Ulva; Chlorophyta – Ulvophyceae - Cladophora; Phaeophyta - Laminaria; Rhodophyta – Polysiphonia; Ascomycota - Saccharomyces (yeast); Ascomycota - mycelial Ascomycota; Basidiomycota – Teliomycetes – Pucinia; Myxomycota; Psilotophyta; Lycophyta – Lycopodium; Lycophyta - Selaginella/Isoetes; Pteridophyta - leptosporangiate ferns; Coniferophyta; Cycadophyta; Anthophyta. Students usually learn the basic life cycles first, then move on to the more complex life cycles. I have found it beneficial to teach the life cycles in the order in which they are listed above. The life cycles are presented in alphabetical order by Division. The slides can be used from within PowerPoint, or exported to other formats with the File/Export function of PowerPoint.Mon, 14 Mar 2016 01:08:48 -0500Simulation Games for Animal Behavior: Red Fish, Blue Fish; Exploring Sexual Selection and Color Polymorphismhttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=577
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=577This game is one of three submitted for use in an upper level course that focuses on animal behavior. The games are paired with a published article from the primary literature, and students should read and prepare to both discuss the article and explore the hypotheses on which the studies have been based. This active learning helps to engage students in the course material and especially to see how concepts relate to real scientific studies.Sat, 20 Feb 2016 01:21:59 -0600A quantitative investigations of plants expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) using a home-made camera attachmenthttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=570
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=570In this laboratory exercise students use digital cameras to measure surface fluorescence of transgenic plants expressing green fluorescence protein (GFP). Inquiry pedagogy is used to teach processes used in scientific investigations and how GFP is used in reporter gene systems. Students start by making observations involving induction of expression of a GFP expressing reporter gene and then use their observations to develop a testable hypothesis regarding possible environmental or developmental signals responsible for inducing gene expression. The students design and conduct an experiment to evaluate their hypothesis. In their experiments, the students assess GFP expression by taking photographs with a digital camera attached to an epifluorescence filter cube. Open source software is used to quantify the amount of green surface fluorescence observed in the students’ photographs. After performing basic statistical analysis, the students report on their findings by writing a scientific poster.The epifluorescence filter cube that enables the camera to detect GFP fluorescence is relatively inexpensive because it is constructed largely from consumer goods. The filter holder is made from hardboard. The illumination source is a 5 watt light emitting diode (LED), and the lens tube is made from plastic plumbing pipe. The specialty materials are a set of dichroic filters. To reduce costs, mass production machine vision filters are used as excitation and barrier filters. The most expensive component is the beam splitting filter.Materials included with the manuscript are instructor’s notes, instructions on how to construct the camera attachment, a student handout explaining how to use ImageJ to quantify surface fluorescence, an example assignment where students investigate the specificity of the Arabidopsis thaliana alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene promoter, Power Point slides with a lecture outline, a grading rubric, and an example of a good scientific poster.Tue, 16 Feb 2016 09:32:11 -0600Tables: Data for Tree Community Comparison Using Sample Plotshttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=545
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=545These Tables are a Microsoft Excel file of Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and species identification of trees in paired 20 x 20 m plots, collected by students in my Ecology class over five years. Students use these data to compare tree stand characteristics such as diversity, similarity, or density.Fri, 26 Jun 2015 07:26:46 -0500Quantifying Behavior – Learning Observational Protocols in the Classroomhttp://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=555
http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=FullRecord&ResourceId=555One of the challenges for teachers without a lab, is how to allow students to observe natural animal behavior directly. The freely available videos by the International Wolf Center are ideal for observation of naturalistic interactions, and last for long enough (5-15 minutes) to enable the practice of different observational techniques. This learning activity introduces novices to the quantification of animal behavior, and assumes no specific prior knowledge of focal, scan or ad libitum sampling protocols. After a brief discussion on “states” and “events” in animal behavior, students have to practice data collection using one of the International Wolf Sanctuary videos. Following on further discussion of their questions and mistakes, they are divided into groups, each group performing one of the three primary forms of data collection while watching a longer wolf video. This 10-minute data collection period allows students to directly experience how and why different data collections protocols work for various types of questions in animal behavior. This is a highly interactive class, with limited uni-directional didactic lecturing. It combines both individual work and group discussion, making the most of limited class time to introduce students to the benefits and limitations of different data collection techniques, also leading to improved understanding of Jeanne Altman’s seminal 1974 paper.Tue, 2 Jun 2015 02:49:53 -0500